Walking under ladders. Black cats. A shattered mirror.
We have come to accept these social superstitions of unluckiness in modern-day culture, at least to an extent. But there is one that is consistently viewed as a general omen for bad luck and arguably, provokes the most uneasiness within us: Friday the 13th. But why? Why as a Western society have we evolved to associate an evil tendency with these two simple digits and their place on the calendar? We can start by examining the historical theories of where the bad energy of 13 originates from.
The most prominent example is The Last Supper, where Jesus and his 12 apostles savored his last meal. Judas, the last to arrive at the dinner (and subsequently the 13th member), would soon be revealed as Jesus’ betrayer which leads to his crucifixion. The weekday of Friday comes into play as Jesus was crucified on the day following his last supper, a Friday.
There is a similar story involving 13 guests at a dinner party found in Norse mythology. Loki, the god of mischief, infamously crashes a feast with 12 gods and tricks the god Hodr into shooting Balder (the god of joy and gladness) with a poisoned arrow. While 13 has clearly proved to have some damaging effects on the attendees of these dinner parties, where else can it be found in history? Let’s go back to the 14th century, where citizens of France witnessed the end of the Knights Templar, the Christian group dedicated to the protection of pilgrims and crusader states.
On none.